Fishing

An Alaskan Fishing Guide’s Farewell - Day 4: Big Fish, Bigger Bears, and a Bruised Ego.

After walking away from a twenty-year guiding career in Alaska to write full-time, I’m getting the chance to return for one more week on the water. This is the fourth installment of a ten-part series where I’ll share each day’s story—the fish landed, the humor that comes with helping people catch them, the inevitable encounters with bears, and an insider's view of the life of an Alaskan guide.
Ken Baldwin|
Wild and beautiful.
Wild and beautiful. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

• Day 1: One More Chance Before I'm Done

• Day 2: It’s Good To Be Back, but Can I Still Do This?

• Day 3: Exploring Wild Alaska by Raft and Fly Rod

Day 4 is done, and it kicked my butt. Yesterday's raft trip was a play date compared to what I had to go through on my fourth day of guiding for the Ridge Lodge.

Big Rocks and Bigger Bears

I was assigned another day of rafting, and it felt like I was put through a CrossFit obstacle course with boulder fields, a lot of bears, and a 75-pound raft that I had to carry a quarter of a mile across soft tundra.

Ken Baldwin, standing next to a raft in Moraine Creek while guiding a 9-mile float trip.
Today's trip was a 9-mile float down Moraine Creek, fly fishing for large rainbow trout, and bear viewing. | Photo by Patrick Harris

Today's Team

Guides Patrick Harris, Luke Valentino, and I, along with 7 guests, were to float down Moraine Creek for a day of fly fishing and bear viewing.

Calm Before the Storm

The morning started easily enough with great weather and a glassy, calm lake ride to two planes that were waiting to take us to Moraine Creek.

Two people in the bow of a small boat crossing a calm lake to a lodge in Alaska.
Our morning commute to the plane that will take us to Moraine Creek for a one-day float trip, bear viewing, and catching large rainbow trout. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

The Gauntlet

I have experience floating the Moraine, which only adds to my concerns, as I know what to expect. The creek is more like a river and has a section called "Rock Garden." I call it running the gauntlet. This is a long stretch of water that is filled with boulders and a small waterfall that I have to go over. If you don't hit the right line in both, you will have problems, and that has me worried.

No Warmups

Again, you don't get a practice run; once you are in, you can't stop and step out. I'm ok with the bears, flying in a small plane, and floating 90% of the river. But these dang rocks are a thorn in my backside.

Take Off

The plane, a Cessna 185, drops four of us off on a small lake, and we jump right into carrying the rafts, frames, food, and fly fishing gear about 1/4 of a mile across the tundra to Moraine Creek. Another plane is right behind us with the rest of the crew.

An Alaskan guide is consulting with a pilot for the location of pickup on Moraine Creek in Alaska.
The pickup spot for the end of each trip changes daily based on the weather. Guide Luke Valentino and pilot Derice Hochstetler need to consult to ensure they are on the same page regarding time and location. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

Moraine Creek

Moraine Creek is in the Katmai National Park and Preserve. The park has the highest densities of brown bears anywhere on earth. It is estimated that 2,200 brown bears live within the park and preserve.

A mama Alasakan brown bear and three cubs sitting on the bank of Moraine Creek in Alaska looking for salmon.
One of the highlights of the day is fishing alongside a momma bear and her cubs. It is a surreal experience to share the river with brown bears, especially when it's a mom and her cubs. You never relax completely, and you always have your head on a swivel, but at some point in the trip, it becomes "normal." | Photo by Ken Baldwin

We Are On Our Own

After we were dropped off, pilot Derice Hochstetler did a fly-by, tipped his wings, and then he was gone. A feeling of isolation hit me. Not heavy or for very long, but enough to feel how far away we are from...pretty much everything. This is just as much an adventure as it is a fly fishing trip.

A plane flies over two anglers after dropping them off with rafts and fly fishing gear.
The pilot gives us a tip of his wing, and then he is off. Standing in the middle of the tundra, in the middle of Alaska, is both isolating and freeing. News of the world, social media, and political unrest feel far, far away. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

So You Want To Be a Guide?

I’d like to think I’m in shape, but I’m not in "let me grab a bunch of gear, plus a 75-lb raft, throw it on my back and walk a quarter of a mile across the tundra — which, by the way, is like walking in sand while wearing waders, a firearm, layers of wool, and boots — have a good time!" — shape.

A Ridge Lodge guide carrying a 75 lb raft, plus raft frame, coolers, and fly rods, a quarter mile across the tundra
The Ridge guide Luke Valentino is carrying a 75 lb raft, plus raft frame, Yeti coolers, and fly rods, a quarter mile across the tundra. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

Finally the Float Begins

The beginning of the float played out like I thought it would. It was fun, easy, and the fishing was good. The bears did their part and entertained us with doing what bears do.

The Test

And then the boulders appeared. One mile of not letting my guard down, sometimes terror, urgency, adrenaline rushes, and getting stuck on a rock.

No Room for Mental Mistakes

I did lose my temper once with a guest. At the beginning of this trip, I gave instructions that when we hit a rock, and we will hit some rocks, to lean in the opposite direction of the direction the raft is leaning. One of the guests kept leaning in the wrong direction, assisting the raft in tipping over.

It's a horrible feeling when the whole raft with everything in it feels like it's going to flip. I barked at him to lean in the other direction and that he needs to figure this out because we have a lot more rocks coming up. After we made it through the mine field, there was such a sense of relief that we all laughed and gave high fives, no hard feelings.

The Fishing

Guide Luke Valentino and guest Hudson Julia hold an Alaskan rainbow trout for the camera.
Guide Luke Valentino and guest Hudson Julia work together to successfully land a Moraine Creek rainbow trout. | Photo provided by Luke Valentino

There is the adventure, and then there is the fishing. Moraine Creek is loaded with big Alaskan rainbow trout. The difficulty isn't in the hooking, it's in the landing. These are strong and wild fish with a lot of energy. Getting one to the net is no easy feat. They will peel off line, jump, run, shake their head, and do it on repeat. If you don't have good technique and cannot stay calm, the chances of success are against you.

A Ridge Lodge fly fishing guide showing off a big Alaskan rainbow trout that guest Jim Julia caught on the Moraine Creek.
Patrick Harris of the Ridge Lodge guiding Jim Julia into a 28" Alaskan rainbow trout. | Photo by Vivian Julia

Maybe Catch a Fish of a Lifetime

A hand is holding the tail of a big Alaskan rainbow trout while it is resting in a net in the water.
These fish grow big and strong on a diet of salmon eggs, salmon flesh, mice, and lamprey. The trout in the Moraine Creek is a wild, native fish that migrates into the creek from Nonvianuk Lake when the salmon show up to spawn. | Photo by Luke Valentino

Down for the Count

This was a fun day, but it wasn't easy. I can do this for a week, I can't do this for a season. Carrying 75 lbs a quarter mile across the tundra is a one-and-done for me. I literally fell asleep on the lodge dock at the end of the day while waiting for our side-by-side to come pick us up.

An Alaskan fly fishing guide laying on a dock next to two boats.
The end of the day, and I'm out. , | Photo by Luke Valentino

I'm loving it up here, I'm glad to be back and feel good about making it through the day. But to do this as a job, you can't just "make it" through the day; you have to be able to own it day in and day out. A day that kicked my butt is every day for the guides at the Ridge. KB

- Follow my writing and the rest of this series on my Fishing On SI Facebook page.

"The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover

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Ken Baldwin
KEN BALDWIN

Ken Baldwin is a Writer/Editor for Fishing On SI, where he writes stories about fly fishing and the lifestyle that surrounds it. His writing and photography have appeared in Men's Journal, Catch Magazine, Fish Alaska, and the American Angler. He also created and hosted the TV show Season on the Edge, which aired on NBC Sports and in seven countries, showcasing travel, adventure, and culture through the lens of fishing. For twenty years, Ken worked as a fly fishing guide in Alaska, which gave him opportunities to hang out with and photograph the Alaskan brown bear. His experience photographing the brown bear helped him land a job with the Netflix documentary Our Planet 2, narrated by David Attenborough. If you dig deep enough in Ken's resume, you will see that he played the terrorist "Mulkey" in the film Die Hard 2 before fly fishing took over his life. Ken is a graduate of the University of Washington.

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